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Woman fights legal battle to stay in the UK

Stephen and Arlene Watty. Photo:

A woman from Norfolk is fighting a legal battle to stay in the UK - because of how much her husband earned at the time they were married.

Stephen and Arlene Watty met and were married in this country - but a new law states that because Arlene is a Phillipino national, her husband needs to earn over £18,600 pounds a year- or she will be deported.

At the time, Stephen was out of work - he has since started his own fencing business, and now needs to prove his income is above the threshold - or face the prospect of Arlene's deportation.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The decision to refuse the application was made in line with the immigration rules and has been upheld by an independent immigration judge." Adding that Arlene was free to return to the Philippines and make a fresh application from there.

To add to their woes, the couple claim an administrative error led the Immigration Office to write to her employers, saying she was not eligible to work - she has now lost her job.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal rejected a challenge to the law on a minimum income - Arlene and Stephen are now on their second appeal, and say they will continue to fight to stay together.